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Re: The Official Cricket Thread

One of the most nicest parts (for me) during the now completed Australia/Sri Lanka series was to hear the dulcet, inimitable tones of the great Richie Benaud. Does Richie still commentate on a full-time basis for Channel 9, Tabata? Now that "Sky" has total monopoly on cricket coverage for this country, sadly we don't get Richie's unique brand of commentary any longer. Doesn't seem the same somehow because he certainly became one of the "voices of cricket" in this part of the world because of his very long association with the BBC and later with Channel 4.

gdn, I was watching part of the last of the ODI series between India and Pakistan when one of the the commentators mentioned that the match was being televised in the USA by "Directv". I know you said that "Directv" is expensive, but how expensive is expensive? Do you have to go pay-per-view or something, rather than cricket being available as part of an overall sports package? I am pleased to say that ppv is very restricted in this country, and now is usually only applicable to the likes of boxing and WWF (is that officially a sport?).

Re: The Official Cricket Thread

I can jump in and answer the Benaud Q - He does the David Gower role - main host for cricket and full-time commentator. He signed a new three-year deal in 2005 with channel nine and will be there until he decides to leave. I fully expect him to return to England in time for the 2010 season when the BBC are planning to buy back all the rights.

Re: The Official Cricket Thread

Originally Posted by Blokee

I can jump in and answer the Benaud Q - He does the David Gower role - main host for cricket and full-time commentator. He signed a new three-year deal in 2005 with channel nine and will be there until he decides to leave. I fully expect him to return to England in time for the 2010 season when the BBC are planning to buy back all the rights.

Cheers, Blokee, that's very interesting. Maybe I have been asleep, given the amount of cricket I've been watching lately, but surely "Sky" will be in there throwing huge amounts of money around, which the BBC will never be able to match, when the television rights come up for bidding again in 2009. The only way the BBC is going to get its hands on test cricket in this country again, as far as I can see, is if the Government steps in and declares that home test test cricket matches should be restored to "crown jewel" status and therefore handed back to terrestrial television in the shape of "The Beeb" or Channel 4.

Re: The Official Cricket Thread

Originally Posted by Nashwan

One of the most nicest parts (for me) during the now completed Australia/Sri Lanka series was to hear the dulcet, inimitable tones of the great Richie Benaud. Does Richie still commentate on a full-time basis for Channel 9, Tabata? Now that "Sky" has total monopoly on cricket coverage for this country, sadly we don't get Richie's unique brand of commentary any longer. Doesn't seem the same somehow because he certainly became one of the "voices of cricket" in this part of the world because of his very long association with the BBC and later with Channel 4.

gdn, I was watching part of the last of the ODI series between India and Pakistan when one of the the commentators mentioned that the match was being televised in the USA by "Directv". I know you said that "Directv" is expensive, but how expensive is expensive? Do you have to go pay-per-view or something, rather than cricket being available as part of an overall sports package? I am pleased to say that ppv is very restricted in this country, and now is usually only applicable to the likes of boxing and WWF (is that officially a sport?).

On Benaud - yes he still does commentary. He is one of the voices on the cricket game I play. Due to the constraints of the game, it is the same 20 statements over and over again. Gets a little annoying.

On DirecTV - it is about $150ish for a package, I think. That's pretty expensive. I'd pay for it too, except my apartment doesn't have a direct line of sight to the sky (there's a huge tree in the back yard), so I can't use DirecTV and it isn't offered on cable (a tragedy).

Re: The Official Cricket Thread

Wow, Victoria ended up crushing Queensland by 276 runs in that Pura Cup game. What a turn around! They were 228 runs behind when they started their 2nd innings. What a funny game cricket is. Go Bushrangers

Re: The Official Cricket Thread

Originally Posted by gdn

On DirecTV - it is about $150ish for a package, I think. That's pretty expensive. I'd pay for it too, except my apartment doesn't have a direct line of sight to the sky (there's a huge tree in the back yard), so I can't use DirecTV and it isn't offered on cable (a tragedy).

I take it that that is $150 per month? Yes, that would be a tad expensive, to be fair, because package I subscribe to with "Sky" works out to about $90 a month. Coincidentally, I had a whacking big tree at the bottom of my garden some years ago but when I discovered that there was no cable facility in the neighbourhood, I waved an impromptu goodbye to the tree!!

Re: The Official Cricket Thread

Originally Posted by Nashwan

Cheers, Blokee, that's very interesting. Maybe I have been asleep, given the amount of cricket I've been watching lately, but surely "Sky" will be in there throwing huge amounts of money around, which the BBC will never be able to match, when the television rights come up for bidding again in 2009. The only way the BBC is going to get its hands on test cricket in this country again, as far as I can see, is if the Government steps in and declares that home test test cricket matches should be restored to "crown jewel" status and therefore handed back to terrestrial television in the shape of "The Beeb" or Channel 4.

Well as part of my job I have to deal with television and radio people etc... and I understand the BBC are very serious about bringing Test Cricket back to the channel and the ECB know that they made a mistake awarding the rights to a non-terrestrial station.

Re: The Official Cricket Thread

Originally Posted by Blokee

Well as part of my job I have to deal with television and radio people etc... and I understand the BBC are very serious about bringing Test Cricket back to the channel and the ECB know that they made a mistake awarding the rights to a non-terrestrial station.

I hate to be a pessimist, but unless "Sky" suddenly loses interest in cricket - and I don't see that happening any time soon - I can't see the BBC outbidding them for the television rights.

Re: The Official Cricket Thread

Originally Posted by Nashwan

I take it that that is $150 per month? Yes, that would be a tad expensive, to be fair, because package I subscribe to with "Sky" works out to about $90 a month. Coincidentally, I had a whacking big tree at the bottom of my garden some years ago but when I discovered that there was no cable facility in the neighbourhood, I waved an impromptu goodbye to the tree!!

No, it is $150 per package - so for one series it is $150. If there are a greater number of tests and one-dayers, then the price goes up.

Re: The Official Cricket Thread

Originally Posted by gdn

No, it is $150 per package - so for one series it is $150. If there are a greater number of tests and one-dayers, then the price goes up.

That does seem to be ridiculously expensive for armchair viewing, I must say. I don't begrudge a penny of the $90 subscription to "Sky" each month because they provide sport from all around the world, during each month of the year, for what I consider to be a reasonable price. As you know, I am particularly partial to watching cricket from the southern hemisphere during our bleak winter months. That being the case, I shall tune in at 4.00 a.m. GMT tomorrow morning, to catch the first couple of hours play of the first test between India and Pakistan before I set off for work. I'll certainly spare you a thought as I am sitting watching the cricket whilst tucking into a bowl of "Rice Krispies"!!

Re: The Official Cricket Thread

Re: The Official Cricket Thread

Originally Posted by Nashwan

That does seem to be ridiculously expensive for armchair viewing, I must say. I don't begrudge a penny of the $90 subscription to "Sky" each month because they provide sport from all around the world, during each month of the year, for what I consider to be a reasonable price. As you know, I am particularly partial to watching cricket from the southern hemisphere during our bleak winter months. That being the case, I shall tune in at 4.00 a.m. GMT tomorrow morning, to catch the first couple of hours play of the first test between India and Pakistan before I set off for work. I'll certainly spare you a thought as I am sitting watching the cricket whilst tucking into a bowl of "Rice Krispies"!!

Well, I found a website that allows me to view the match. Perhaps. Let's hope it works tomorrow

Re: The Official Cricket Thread

Excellent morning session for the Indian team on Day 1 of the First Test in Delhi. Pakistan won the toss and decided to bat on what looks like a pretty slow pitch with uneven bounce and struggled to reach 74-3 at the break. Some good bowling by the home team but Pakistan didn't show a lot of ambition. Incidentally, I know that India is well off with batsmen, gdn, but what do you think lies behind the decision to omit Youvraj Singh, who is in the form of his life, from the Indian team?